Song of Solomon (1977)

Morrison's third book, and one of her most ambitious, was this one. The book tells the story of Macon "Milkman" Dead, who grows up in the industrial Midwest against the backdrop of the Great Depression and then travels through Pennsylvania and Virginia to forge his own identity. It is a stylistic tour de force that stretches across literary genres, creating a dizzying tapestry of historical fiction and magical realism. The book is also regularly prohibited in schools and is a favorite of former President Barack Obama.

Milkman Dead was formed immediately after a local eccentric threw himself over a rooftop in a futile attempt to fly. He, too, will spend the rest of his life attempting to fly. Toni Morrison, like Saul Bellow or Gabriel Garcia Marquez, transforms the coming-of-age tale in this superbly envisioned work. Morrison introduces a complete cast of strivers and seeresses, liars and assassins, the denizens of a fully formed dark universe as she follows Milkman from his rustbelt city to the land of his family's roots.

Link to read: goodreads.com/book/show/11334.Song_of_Solomon